First published 2007
This anthology brings together twenty-five original noir stories written by women or featuring female protagonists. Contributors include established crime writers like Vicki Hendricks, Sara Gran, Christa Faust, and Naomi Hirahara alongside Charlie Huston, Ken Bruen, and Daniel Woodrell. The collection spans diverse settings and situations, from Lisa Respers France's "School Girl" to Sara Gran's "The Token Booth Clerk" to Christa Faust's "Cutman." Each story explores the darker corners of human nature through distinctly female perspectives. The anthology includes a fifty-page appendix examining pioneering women in noir fiction. Several stories earned major recognition, including Daniel Woodrell's "Uncle," which received Edgar and Anthony Award nominations, and Cornelia Read's "Hungry Enough," winner of the Shamus Award. The collection demonstrates how contemporary writers reshape classic noir themes through modern female experiences.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: diverse-perspectives, female-protagonists, modern-noir
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
354 pages · Paperback · Busted Flush Press, LLC